Pensioner who murdered disabled neighbour jailed for life

A pensioner was today (Thursday) jailed for life after being convicted of murdering his wheelchair-bound neighbour.

Vidmantas Svedarauskas attacked Manfred Jaedke inside his victim’s home after the two men embarked on a drinking session together.

His victim was found later dead on the floor of his bungalow after another neighbour went to check on him when he failed to respond to her text messages. He had 65 injuries including a number to his head.

Svedarauskas, 67, of Porcher Way, Boston, denied the murder of Manfred Jaedke, 61, between July 6-9, 2016 during a trial but the jury took just one hour and 15 minutes to return a guilty verdict.

Today at Lincoln Crown Court Svedarauskas was given a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 15 years before he can be considered for release by the parole board.

At the end of his sentence Svedarauskas will be automatically be deported to his native Lithuania.

Judge John Pini QC , passing sentence, told Svedarauskas “Precisely what happened in his house is known only to you.

“What seems like to me is that when in drink there was something that was said that annoyed you and you lost your temper and attacked him. However that remains speculative.

“Manfred was in very poor health. He had his left leg amputated above the knee. He had a stroke in April 2016 and a mini stroke in May 2016. He was therefore extremely vulnerable.”

The judge said that he accepted that Svedarauskas had not intended to kill but instead intended to cause really serious harm.

He added “You have not shown one ounce of remorse or regret for what you did.”

During the trial the jury heard how the two men had been seen drinking together the evening before Mr Jaedke’s body was found inside his bungalow in Porcher Way, Boston.

Svedarauskas did not give evidence during the trial. The jury was told that he had a limited recollection of what happened.

During the trial Christopher Donnellan QC, prosecuting, told the jury “ Manfred Jaedke was subjected to a sustained assault whilst in his own home. He suffered injuries from which he died.

“The person who repeatedly hit him was the defendant Vidmantas Svedarauskas who was one of his neighbours.

“The sustained attack and the vulnerability of Manfred meant that he bled easily. The combination of these blows, and repeated blows, indicate that the defendant at the time of inflicting those injuries intended at the very least to cause really serious injury or to kill.

“No-one saw the assault. Nobody knows why it started. The precise nature of it is not known but the number of injuries he had are far too many for him to have received them accidentally.”

“We may never know what sparked this episode of violence. It came at the end of an evening in which none of the neighbours had seen any trouble between the two men but we do know they had been spending the evening sharing a drink.”

David Mason QC, in mitigation, said that since being remanded in custody Svedarauskas has been diagnosed as suffering from dementia.

Mr Mason said “He is 67 years of age. The reality is that a life sentence may mean he will never be released from prison. This man may well die in prison.”